Deception
by firstdragonrider
Summary: An undercover mission goes wrong, forcing Kensi and Callen to rely on each other. Can the rest of the team reach them before it's too late? Rated M for serious torture and angsty-whump.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: I didn't intend for this to become a multi-chapter fic, but it sort of ended up like that ehe. I'll try to update regularly, and I'm sorry for any and all mistakes there might be in there. Most of the chapters will be written in the middle of the night haha. There will be torture and maybe even some possible implied-rape, so I encourage sensitive readers to be wary. I'm a sucker for Kensi/Callen angsty whumping, but the story isn't going to have any romantic undertones between them. Please offer your suggestions and criticism, I take them all to heart and they substantially improve my writing! Love you all, please enjoy!_

**Deception **

Kensi Blye didn't know why everything was so cold. She felt like her entire head was enclosed in an ice box and she wondered if she could open her eyes or if they were frozen shut. Muffled voices reached her ears and she was confused as to why she couldn't hear them clearly. It was then that she realized that she really needed to breathe and she drew in a short experimental breathe and found, to her horror, that the cold rushed in through her nose and down into her lungs. Her eyes snapped open, blinking furiously as cold water hit them. She spluttered, trying to extract the water from her airways as her mind very quickly came to the realization that she was indeed submerged in ice cold water.

Her head was suddenly yanked up harshly, and she found brief relief from the freezing liquid when her head broke the surface and she was able to cough furiously. The water came back up and she spit it out desperately, trying to get real air into her lungs. Kensi tried to take calming breaths but they came out raspy instead and before she knew it, she had been slapped across the face. Her instincts kicked in and she immediately tried to get into a defensive position. She found that her arms were tied securely behind her to a chair, but her legs were still free. She kicked out sharply, landing a blow somewhere and hearing a gasp of pain.

Kensi tried to focus and made a quick assessment of her surroundings. She found a very large man in front of her (probably the man who had slapped her) bent over from her kick, and two other men on either side of her. One of them cursed loudly and grabbed her jaw roughly, squeezing painfully and forcing her to look at him. They were all wearing jeans and black t-shirts with suite jackets. The man who had slapped her was wearing black leather gloves and then one grabbing her jaw had a tattoo of an eagle on his neck. He was much thinner than the bent over man in front of her, but he was still well-built. And angry.

"About time you're awake," he growled, releasing her face. His hair was short-cut and black, matching a set of brown eyes and a slight stubble on a very scarred jawline. She coughed up more water, feeling her throat complain loudly. He patted the man in front of her on the back, whispering a few words which dismissed him. Kensi arched her neck, trying to see where he was going, but a sharp jab to her stomach caused her to start coughing again as the air left her lungs in one breathe. She felt exposed with her hands tied behind her back, and she made a conscious effort to pull sharply at her bindings which did nothing but hurt her wrists.

"I'm going to ask you a few questions," the man continued, leaning his head in close to hers. She could smell alcohol and cigarettes on his breathe as she tried to splutter for breathe. She attempted to head-butt him, but he drew away too quickly. "I need you to answer very truthfully or things won't end well for you." He stepped out of her line of vision, and for the first time she was able to see the contents of the room.

She was sitting in front of a tub of ice water, and she shivered involuntarily as water dripped down her back from her hair. The room itself looked to be an ordinary bedroom in a house with wooden paneling on the walls and one window to the left. Her eyes focused on what was beyond the barrel and she immediately stiffened as her eyes met with two blue ones. She made sure to control her facial expression as she surveyed Callen who was also tied up in a chair. He had a nasty bruise on one side of his face and a bleeding cut on his chest. His lip was split but his eyes were alight with anger and a hint of worry directed toward her. She could feel their captor watching her closely and she tore her eyes away from her team leader to look at him.

"Who are you?" she asked, her voice cracked and sore. She wasn't expecting her throat and face to hurt, but the inside of her mouth felt raw. The man laughed. It was a short, humorless laugh and it made her dislike him even more than she already did.

"You question me? No, that's not how this works." He got down close next to her again and she leaned away, tensing. "Do you know this man?" She looked at Callen again but didn't keep eye contact.

"I've never seen him before, who is he?" she asked, putting enough panic in her voice to make it seem like she really didn't know who he was. Callen bowed his head down, feigning disinterest in her and sighing heavily.

"Funny, that's what he said about you too." The man sounded a bit tired as he rose from beside her, pacing back and forth a few times before he whirled and punched her straight across the face. The entire chair tipped over as Kensi let out a small cry of pain, bracing herself for the impact as her head connected with the concrete. She groaned, feeling the entire right side of her face go numb from the punch and the rest of her skull vibrate painfully from the fall. For a second she was scared that she was going to black out, but she managed to keep herself conscious

"Hey, leave her alone," she heard Callen bark, and she shut her eyes as a full-blown headache began pounding in her head. Just as she was beginning to orient herself with being on the floor, rough hands hoisted her chair back up into position. Her head felt like it was going to burst, but her eyes snapped open at the sound of Callen grunting in pain. The man had made his way over to her teammate and was now pushing his knuckles against the cut on Callen's chest. He increased pressure until she saw fresh blood begin to seep through his shirt and Callen involuntarily forced out a hiss of pain from his clenched teeth. The man suddenly twisted his knuckles and Callen cried out, trying to get away from the pressure.

"Stop," Kensi spat.

"Mark!" The male voice came from another room and sounded rushed. The man, who had now been identified as Mark, paused in his movement and looked up sharply, hesitating for a few seconds before he briskly made his way out of the room. Callen let out a shaky breathe, wincing as he straightened his back and jarred the cut.

"You okay?" Kensi whispered hurriedly and he gave her a nod, obviously not fine.

"You?" He returned the question, meeting her worried eyes.

"I'm good," she echoed, pretending that her head wasn't killing her. She could feel her cheekbone beginning to swell up from the punch.

"Sam and Deeks are on their way," Callen continued and he saw Kensi visibly relax. Mark stormed back into the room with a murderous glint in his eye, stopping behind Kensi and putting a knife against her throat. Kensi immediately stiffened, feeling the blade dig into her neck painfully. Callen also tensed, narrowing his eyes. She could feel his breathe hot on her neck and one of his fingers trailing down her face and tracing her jawline.

"Do you know her now, agent Callen?" Mark hissed into Kensi's ear and she kept her eyes trained on Callen's, waiting for his reaction. He remained silent. Both of them were surprised that he had figured out Callen's name. For a brief second she was worried that everything had been compromised, but Mark didn't hint at the fact that he knew any other information besides Callen's name. "If you don't know her, then you won't mind me killing her." His finger disappeared from her jawline and he pressed harder on the knife. She felt the warm blood dripping down her neck and winced at the pain when he pressed harder with a dark chuckle.

"Wait," Callen interjected, much to Kensi's relief. Mark paused, taking the opportunity to press his nose into her hair and take a deep breathe. She seriously thought about turning and biting his nose off, but the knife was still loosely pressed to her throat and she didn't want to take any chances. Kensi could clearly see her own disgust mirrored in Callen's face, mixed with frustration at the situation they were stuck in.

"They just got past the gates," the other man called again, and Mark tensed. He removed the knife and stormed back into the other room, yelling obscenities at the man. Kensi let out a breath of air she didn't know she'd been holding. She assumed they were talking about their two other teammates and exchanged a look with Callen.

"Alright time to leave," Mark growled from somewhere behind her, and Kensi saw alarm flash in Callen's eyes. She tried to turn her head to see what was going on, but found herself with a rag covering her mouth and nose.

"Hey, stop it!" She let out a surprised muffled yelp and struggled briefly, vaguely making out Callen's voice. She couldn't help but take a small breathe as her lungs started disagreeing with her, and the scent of chloroform crowded into her nostrils and rendered her unconscious within seconds. Callen could do nothing but glare at Mark as he released Kensi and made his way over to him, repeating the process until both of the agents were completely passed out.

By the time NCIS got there seven minutes later, the room was empty, minus the blood stained rag on the floor.


	2. Chapter 2

"Clear!"

"Clear." Deeks felt his pulse quicken as he burst into the last room of the house, his eyes scanning the empty space with a sinking feeling.

"They're gone," he mumbled, lowering his gun slowly as Sam appeared behind him. The two men remained standing in the entrance to the room, letting the realization sink in that they had been so close to finding both their teammates.

"They can't be far," Sam said roughly, pushing past Deeks and approaching the window, looking outside before stomping out of the room and shouting orders. Deeks took a few careful steps into the room, his eyes fixating on the tub of water. There were still a few ice cubes floating around. He crouched down to pick up the rag on the floor, noting very clearly that it smelled of chloroform and was stained with blood. He hoped it wasn't blood from his teammates. Walking over to the other chair, he discovered blood droplets on the ground and his worry increased. He promptly stood up, pulling out his phone and turning away from the chair.

"Eric I need you to find that van," Deeks snapped as soon as the younger man's voice was heard over the line.

"We're already working on it; we're tracking all of the traffic cams in the area."

"Deeks!" Sam's voice echoed from downstairs and Deeks hung up on Eric, dashing down the stairs to where Sam was standing in the entrance to the garage. He approached the doorway and saw, to his dismay, that a white van was parked in the garage.

"Damn it," he growled, noting how Sam was grabbing the doorframe tight enough to turn his knuckles white.

"Where are you G," Sam mumbled, refusing to meet Deek's gaze. He knew it would be as worried as his.

_**5 Hours Earlier**_

"Sam, Deeks, are you in position?"

"We have eyes on you G, parked down the street." G glanced nonchalantly behind him to see the silver car parked a few cars down, the familiar view of his partner and Deeks sitting in the front seat. "Kensi is approaching now." He felt her brush behind him before she settled down in the chair next to his, putting her cup of tea on the table together with a book. Callen lowered his newspaper to smile at her and she returned the expression. The two of them were currently sitting at an outdoor café in downtown LA, waiting for a man who had identified himself as John.

Deeks and Sam had gone undercover two weeks ago to infiltrate a drug cartel that was building up significant power in LA. The organization had moved from smuggling drugs across the borders to weapons in a matter of days, and they were now suspected of transferring official documents to high-paying bidders.

Sam and Deeks' mission had been simple, join the organization, extract as much information and evidence as they could, and make the arrest. It was only yesterday that they had learned that high priority classified material had been obtained by the organization. The only way to stop the transaction was to get in close to the main players. So far, Sam and Deeks had managed to gain the trust of a person named John Higgs. He swore he had information that pertained to the transaction of the classified materials and had agreed to meeting Callen and Kensi to exchange information for protection.

It was crucial for the mission that Sam and Deeks remained undercover, and Callen had ordered them to stay out of the situation unless he gave them the word. He knew that national security depended on them remaining unidentified. Hetty had agreed with his decision to leave them undercover. Sam had already proven himself as a worthy bodyguard asset, and it was NCIS's hope that he would be asked to partake in the transaction as protection. Deeks was tagging along for the ride.

"He should be here by now," Kensi mumbled, looking around the area as though she was surveying it as a civilian.

"He'll be there, he gave us his word," Deek's voice breathed over their earwigs. Sure enough, a very skittish looking man rounded the corner and paused, searching the faces in the café until he landed on Callen's. They kept brief eye contact before the man nervously made his way over toward them, settling down in the chair across from the two agents.

"John?" Callen folded his newspaper and placed it on the table.

"Did Rick and Michael send you?" John asked, referring to Deeks' and Sam's aliases. He was obviously paranoid as he glanced around him. Kensi picked up her tea cup and took a sip, keeping a wary eye on their surroundings.

"Yes, do you have the information?" Callen made sure to keep his voice calm, even though he felt the urgency of getting this meeting over with. He felt exposed. John nodded erratically, eyeing Kensi suspiciously.

"Yea yea, I have the info, but first you have to promise to offer me protection." G raised an eyebrow, leaning forward slightly.

"That was the deal, information for protection. You have our word." John wrung his hands together nervously, nodding again. It was then that Kensi noticed two men exit from the bathrooms inside of the café. They were both huge, probably larger than Sam, and sporting clean cut suits complete with ties. They paused by the bar, murmuring something to each other before one of them glanced directly at her. She played it off as though she was just looking around before feigning wiping some dirt off of Callen's shoulder.

"Guys, two men inside the café." She felt the tension immediately rise as her teammates in the car strained to catch a glimpse of them.

"Shit I recognize them," Sam hissed.

"John, I need the information," Callen pressed, making sure the man in front of him understood how serious the situation was. As soon as the words left his mouth, a white van came careening around the corner, stopping short of their location and bursting open the backdoors. Simultaneously, Kensi saw the two men in the café rip out guns and she called out a loud _get down_ before bullets started speeding toward them. Callen was able to duck down, realizing that the man jumping out of the van also had a gun and was shooting at them from the front. However this realization did not come fast enough for him to warn John, and he watched as the man was shot five times in the back before he slumped over the table. Kensi had her gun out and was firing back at the men in the café, crouching down between the tables. Callen swiftly took care of the man from the van before he also turned, returning fire and hoping that the men inside weren't hitting innocent people.

"Deeks, around the back," Callen heard Sam order in his ear.

"Make sure they don't see you or you'll blow your cover," he reminded them briskly, reloading as Kensi covered him.

"Callen, behind you!" Sam's voice made Callen react quickly, turning and firing at three men who had just rounded the corner. He cursed under his breath, knowing that this wasn't going to end well if they all decided to shoot at once. The shooting suddenly seized and Callen and Kensi cast wary glances at each other, not risking sticking their head up to see what had happened.

"Throw your guns toward us or we'll shoot you both." The voice came from one of the three new comers and Callen could vaguely see them taking cover behind some planet pots.

"I could take out one, maybe both of the men inside," Kensi quickly assured him, not wanting to back down from the fight. He shook his head, grimacing.

"We're coming G, just hang tight," he heard Sam mutter, obviously somewhere close by.

"No, don't blow your cover," Callen hissed, knowing that the whole operation was going to go to hell if Sam and Deeks lost what little progress they had gained over the past two weeks.

"I won't repeat myself," the voice called again. Callen motioned for Kensi to throw her gun out and she did so reluctantly, giving him a questioning look. This was not going the way it should be.

"You guys better find us soon," Callen mumbled, and Kensi understood that this was going to get much worse before it got better.

"Goddamn it G, don't you dare let them take you," Sam growled.

"I swear, if you blow your cover, I will kill you when I get back."

"You're not actually thinking about…" Deeks' sentence trailed off.

"National security," Callen reminded them. Kensi could practically feel the distaste coming from Deeks and Sam.

"Stand up with your hands above your head," the voice from the planters shouted, and the two agents did just that.

"You'll get us back," Kensi stated quietly, echoing words that she had spoken to Deeks months ago. She had been fine then, and they would be fine now as well.

"Step toward us, don't make any sudden movements!" The two special agents made their way over to the three men and were roughly shoved toward the white van, guns pressed against their heads. Deeks and Sam watched from a distance as they had their earwigs removed and crushed before they were shoved into the van and knocked unconscious. Sam recognized one of the men as his boss and cursed under his breath.

"I'm not just gonna sit here," Deeks said, getting up from his position with his gun ready. Sam pulled him back down roughly, tightening his grip on Deeks' arm.

"Callen's right, we can't blow our cover. We will get them back." His statement did nothing to assure Deeks and he watched with a painful fear in his stomach as the van pulled away from the scene.

"Eric you better be following that van."

_To be continued._

_A/N: No more flashbacks now, I promise! Just had to clear some stuff up. Thank you so much for your support and feedback, please let me know if you have any suggestions or need any clarification! Just to reiterate, this won't be a Callen/Kensi romance thing, it'll just be very angsty friendship hurt/comfort. There will be slight tones of Deeks/Kensi, but nothing overwhelming, don't worry. Thanks for reading! _


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey, wake up." Kensi was first aware of the fact that her head was killing her, and secondly that someone was lightly slapping her face, which did nothing to help the bruise on her cheek.

"Stop," she grumbled, knowing that the person holding her head was Callen. She squinted open her eyes, afraid that everything was going to be bright and painful, but found to her surprise that their surroundings was abnormally dark. She opened her eyes fully to stare at Callen who was eyeing her worriedly. "And stop looking so worried," she chastised him, feeling triumphant when he snorted. He helped her sit up slowly, not missing her wince as the blood rushed to her head. "Any idea where we are?"

"No, the door is locked and there are no other points of entry." She looked around the room and affirmed his statement. Only one metal door, in and out.

"What do you think went wrong back there?" she asked, referring to their failed exchange in the café.

"They probably figured out that John was about to give up valuable information. They apparently have the resources to take out threats and stir up a hell of a shitstorm by kidnapping two federal agents." He made his way over to the metal door.

"But I don't think they know we're federal agents," she pointed out, thinking back to the previous room they had been in.

"I think they've figured out that we're valuable. Otherwise we'd be dead already." She couldn't argue with that statement.

"How's your chest?" Kensi asked carefully, knowing he wasn't going to tell the truth.

"Better," he responded, masking the emotion in his voice. She knew that he was going to turn into an unreadable mask if she pressed any further, even though she was pretty sure that he was already concealing most of his pain. She was doing the same thing.

"Can you pick this lock?" he asked, motioning to the lock mechanism on the door. He found it odd that the door could be unlocked from both the outside and inside, but he assumed that this room wasn't meant to hold prisoners.

"My lock picks were in my jacket," she grumbled, pulling out a few bobby pins from her pockets. The piece of clothing had been taken from her sometime in-between being knocked out and waking up tied to a chair. She noted that Callen had been allowed to keep his jacket. "But maybe this will do." She approached the door, bending down to inspect the lock when the door suddenly opened. The same big man from before stood in the doorway, and she didn't have any time to make a move against him before she felt the tip of a gun pressed to her forehead.

"Try anything and I'll shoot her," the man growled at Callen and the agent held his hands up in front of him as a sign of peace. Both of them caught a glimpse of the room outside of the door, but could only make out a chair and a table with stuff on it. "Come with me," the big man continued, keeping the gun aimed at Kensi's face as she slowly stood up. Kensi didn't have time to glance back at Callen, but an unspoken promise that she'd be fine passed between them. The man led her out of the room and shut the door behind him, making sure that it locked.

Callen approached the door, carefully trying the handle with an ounce of hope that maybe it was unlocked. It obviously wasn't, and he searched the ground with the thought that maybe Kensi had dropped her bobby pins. He found one, but it wasn't much use to him.

There was suddenly screaming from beyond the door. His entire body nearly jolted in shock at the unfamiliar sound, but his mind immediately registered that it was Kensi screaming. He had never heard the woman scream before, much less cry in front of him, but the sounds coming from outside were unmistakably those of his youngest agent.

"Damn it," he growled, hitting the door with his fist. This wasn't supposed to happen; Sam and Deeks should have found them by now.

He began pounding on the door as the screaming continued, hoping that he'd make enough noise to warrant them to come and stop him. He could convince them that he was much more important than her. The screaming died down for a second and Callen continued to slam his fist into the door, cursing under his breathe when the screams renewed, louder than before. The noise finally stopped, but Callen didn't cease in his hammering until he felt his hands aching. Minutes passed before he paused, breathing heavily with both hands flat against the door. He closed his eyes, straining his ears and trying to make out what was going on outside. He didn't know how long he stood there, calming himself down and trying to figure out what to do.

The room was barren, no windows, not even any piping that he could rip out and use as a weapon. He trusted that his team would find them, but he didn't know how close they really were. G leaned his forehead against the door, feeling the weight of the situation settle on his shoulders. From what he knew, Kensi had never been tortured before. She'd been captured and probably interrogated, but not like this. She was one of the most strong-minded people he knew, and G was sure she'd do her best to keep her team safe. But her screams echoed in the back of his mind and he felt his chest tighten at the thought of what they were doing to her. _That should be me out there._

An hour passed and he finally extracted himself from his position at the door, pacing around the room and surveying every single nook and cranny. He was about to start poking and prodding at the wall when the door suddenly swung open and Kensi was unceremoniously thrown into the room before the door was shut with a loud bang. She managed to catch herself on all fours, bowing her head to the ground and breathing heavily. He was at her side in an instance, reaching out a hand to touch her shoulder. She grabbed his hand and twisted, withdrawing into a defensive position as she tried to process who was in the room with her.

"Kens it's me!" Callen bit out in pain as she pushed down on his wrist sharply. The pressure vanished and he ignored his aching hand in order to get a better look at his teammate. She had scrambled backwards toward the door and was now staring at him with such intensity that he almost had to look away.

"Callen?" she whispered, hands out in front of her defensively. Her voice broke his heart.

"Yes, you're okay, it's just us." She dropped her hands slowly, trying to stand up on shaky legs. He offered to help her but she brushed him off, clutching at the door handle and pulling herself into a standing position. He studied her closely, hands still hovering close by in case she needed his support. Her face was starting to bruise from Mark's punches, but new cuts littered her face. She sported a split lip that probably matched his own, and there was a dark spot by her temple which Callen recognized as a burn. His gaze traveled to her arm which she was clutching protectively.

"Let me see that arm," he commanded, and she eyed him nervously, hugging the arm against her. "Kensi." He instilled a bit of command into his voice and she obliged, her eyes darting from her arm to his face. The shirt sleeve had been pushed up to reveal her entire forearm. It was red, raw, bloody, and blistered. Her hand was swollen and one finger was clearly broken.

"Boiling water and hot irons," Kensi explained softly, and Callen's eyes snapped up to hers. He wanted to apologize, comfort her somehow, but that wasn't how they worked. "I didn't give them away," she continued, almost stumbling over the words as they rushed out of her mouth. "I didn't give them away. I didn't." Callen hushed her, gently grabbing her hand where there was still healthy skin and turning her arm to inspect the damage on the other side. This side was blistered as well, and he could see a series of thin knife cuts. Her wrists were bruised from what he imagined were restraints. G felt more than saw Kensi start to sway and moved his hands to her shoulders in order to steady the agent. She tried to swat his hands away but ended up nearly tipping forward into him instead.

"I got you," Callen mumbled, carefully guiding her away from the door and sliding down with her towards the ground. She pushed against him feebly, not appreciating the help or the proximity, but she stopped struggling once he had settled her against the wall.

"I think it's the concussion," she breathed, trying to clear her blurry vision in order to focus on one of the ten versions of Callen that was swimming in front of her. He reached around her head to where she had impacted the ground back at the other house and his hands came away with sticky blood. "How's your chest?" she asked and Callen couldn't help but smile at the fact that she was probably more worried about him than herself.

"Peachy. I need you to stay awake Kensi." She had begun to blink very slowly and he recognized that he had to keep her from falling asleep.

"I didn't give them away," Kensi began again, eyes straining to focus on him. He gently cradled her face in his hands, forcing her to look him in the eyes.

"I knew you wouldn't," he assured her, instilling some pride in his voice and giving a slight squeeze when she tried to close her eyes. "Stay with me Kens." She tried her best to stay conscious, studying how blue his eyes looked when they were outlined by angry bruised skin. But the pull of unconsciousness was too strong and she soon succumbed to darkness with Callen worriedly calling her name.

_A/N: Wooo. More detailed torture scenes coming up, I just wanted to take it easy with this chapter… Thank you everyone for your feedback, hopefully I'll be able to update this story pretty quickly. _


	4. Chapter 4

"We could make the arrest right now," Deeks hissed under his breath, keeping his eyes forward and trained on the empty chair behind the desk. Sam glanced at him from where he was sitting next to him, but kept quiet. "With some few _convincing_ words, we could get them to tell us where Kensi and Callen are."

"Deeks, you need to calm down." Sam punctuated his point by leaning forward slightly, catching Deeks' eyes. "Stick with the mission. Don't blow your cover." Their conversation was cut short when a man entered the office, clearing his throat and mumbling a few things over his Bluetooth before taking a seat behind the desk.

"Gentlemen," he greeted, flashing a smile which neither of them returned. "Thank you for coming in on such short notice." He straightened his tie, cracking his fingers and typing something into his laptop. Deeks couldn't help but grip his chair a bit tighter as hate for the man swelled up. This was Luke Darcy, the man in charge of the business aspect of the organization that Deeks and Sam were currently infiltrating. He had no resemblance to any cartel thugs, gangsters, or drug lords and this made Deeks hate him a little more. Instead, Luke operated out of a pristine office in a suit and tie, exhibiting enough charm and finesse to make both agents feel claustrophobic and out of place.

"What's this we heard about a shooting?" Sam asked, throwing his head toward the muted TV on the wall which was showing footage of the outdoor café. Luke studied them both closely for a moment, pausing in his typing before he clasped his hands in front of him and smiled stiffly.

"We have a mole in our organization," he began slowly as though he didn't think they'd understand. "Well, we _had _a mole." Deeks noticed the brief flash of annoyance in Luke's eyes. "He was taken care of, and that's what that little fiasco today was about."

"Seems a bit ridiculous to cause a massive scene in downtown L.A. just to take out one guy," Deeks commented hotly, narrowing his eyes slightly. Luke looked at him sternly, analyzing whether or not that was an intelligent statement or just the blonde man being an idiot again.

"Michael," Luke said with a distasteful smile, leaning in closer to Deeks and using his cover name. "Don't question what we do, okay?"

"It just seems a bit insufficient, that's all," Sam chimed in, saving Deeks from Luke's scrutinizing gaze. Luke huffed, straightening his jacket as the corner of his mouth twitched downwards.

"Even though it might be _insufficient,_ we gained two very valuable assets in the fire exchange."

"The two agents you kidnapped?" Deeks tone came out a bit too bitter for Sam's liking and the bigger man had to restrain himself from reacting. Luke cocked his head slowly, raising both eyebrows.

"Mr. Hanna, please take control of the situation," Hetty's quiet voice crackled in Sam's ear and the agent cleared his throat loudly, forcing Luke to look at him.

"Why did you call us in?" he asked, feigning annoyance. Deeks clenched his jaw, recognizing that he had messed up. Luke didn't seem to take him very seriously however, and Deeks forced himself to relax as Luke completely disregarded the blonde man's presence in order to speak to Sam.

"You're a very big man, Rick," Luke began humorlessly. "How good are you at intimidation?" Sam slid his eyes over to meet Deeks', raising his chin slightly and adopting a smug expression.

"Need help forcing some information out?" he asked, an eyebrow quirking upwards in obvious interest. Luke responded exactly how Sam wanted him to; with morbid delight.

"Yes, yes excellent. Splendid." He clapped his hands together. "These two agents are being quite a handful," he explained nonchalantly, grabbing a pen and writing down something on a sticky note. Deeks felt his pulse rising, knowing that this was the information they had been waiting for. "There's another traitor in the organization," he explained as he wrote. "I need you to convince these two shits that it's better for everyone if they just tell us who that person might be." He discarded the pen onto the desk and handed Sam the sticky note. It was an address.

"We'll take care of them," Deeks assured, adopting the calm façade he was supposed to have been sporting throughout the meeting.

"Ah, well, I need you for something else," Luke said distastefully.

"We work together," Sam explained, pocketing the address.

"I need Mikey here to help out with a very important transaction." Luke didn't explain any further but started writing another sticky note.

"Mr. Deeks, you need to take this job," Hetty's voice echoed in both of their ears and Deeks grimaced. He knew this was the point of their entire mission. The transaction that Luke was talking about was probably the big deal that was going to happen later in the week, but Deeks was torn about the fact that he had to find his teammates. "Mr. Hanna will retrieve Callen and Ms. Blye, do not worry," Hetty continued, almost as though she had read his mind. He took a deep breathe, calming himself and accepting the fact that his partner would be rescued by Sam.

"Here, call this number in an hour. They'll take care of everything." Luke didn't even glance at Deeks but instead reached a hand up to his Bluetooth, obviously answering a call. "This is Darcy, give me ten seconds," he drawled, putting someone on hold. "I expect you to be at that address tomorrow morning," Luke stated, motioning at Sam. "Anything goes wrong, we'll find you." He gave them both a large grin before spinning in his chair, thumbing his Bluetooth and effectively ending the meeting with Sam and Deeks.

As soon as the two agents were in the car, Deeks started muttering.

"I don't like this," he grumbled, drumming his fingers on the handle nervously.

"Deeks, we got this," Sam retorted, a hint of frustration layering over his attempt at soothing. "I will get them out, trust me."

"But I should be there."

"You should be finishing this mission."

"But Kensi ne-"

"I said I'll get them out," Sam snapped, turning to face the shorter man fully. There was anger evident on his face as well as a challenge. _Don't you dare think I won't do everything in my power to save them. _Deeks recognized that he had overstepped a boundary and he backtracked, raising his hands in defense.

"Yea, alright, I'm sorry. I just don't like not being involved, you know?" He cast his eyes downwards.

"They will be fine," Sam said harshly, more for his sake than anyone else's. "They just have to make it through the night." Neither of them spoke for the entire ride back to headquarters and they didn't talk until an hour later when Sam uttered a quiet apology in his general direction and Deeks understood that the bigger man would do _anything _in his power to bring their team home.

_A/N: Wooo shorter chapter. Thank you to everyone who followed the story, I promise I won't take too long to update. Please review and let me know what you think! _


	5. Chapter 5

Callen kicked sharply at the wall, ignoring the blaring pain in his toe as he continued to try to hack away at the corner. He had been trying for the past hour to gain some sort of leverage in the room, whether that would be a weak spot in the wall or a chunk of concrete that he could use as a weapon. The rough concrete didn't give way, and he kicked it once again out of anger, stilling his frustrated breathing and scanning the room for his next target.

His eyes swept over Kensi's sleeping form briefly, making sure that she was still breathing and resting peacefully. He had tried, in vain, to wake her up after she had passed out. His only course of action had been to take off his jacket and place it under her head as a makeshift pillow, positioning her in the far corner of the room where she would be the least in the way if someone stormed into the room.

His ears picked up on sounds outside the door and he darted toward the door, pressing himself against the wall next to the opening. The door opened and one of the men entered, expecting Callen to be next to Kensi in the corner. Callen sent a sharp kick to the man's knee, causing him to buckle and fall backwards. Callen caught him around the neck, clamping down and applying pressure, ignoring the way the man's shoulders were rubbing against his cut on his chest.

"That's enough," Mark's voice said, followed by the clicking of a gun being loaded. Callen whipped around, pulling the man with him to face Mark. He had a gun aimed at Callen with an unimpressed expression on his face. "Just come with us Agent Callen," he drawled, waving his gun haphazardly. The man in Callen's arms gasped desperately, clutching at his arms in hopes of getting a breath of air. Callen narrowed his eyes, staring at Mark from behind the man's head. He knew he was completely covered by the body in front of him and wouldn't get hit if Mark decided to start shooting.

"Let him go," Mark continued, a crooked grin slowly spreading across his face as he readjusted his aim toward Kensi in the corner. "Or I shoot her." Callen weighted the options of how serious he was being with a scowl, but slowly let go of the man he was choking, holding his hands up in a sign of defeat. He sent his most hateful glare in Mark's direction and he just chuckled. The man who Callen had been choking grabbed him roughly from behind while coughing, pushing him out of the room and toward the bigger space outside. Callen quickly took in his surroundings.

The room was twice the size of the one that he and Kensi were stuck in. There was a series of small windows at the very top of the wall, and Callen glimpsed a darkening sky and some grass. He concluded they were in a basement and that it had to be somewhere around six in the evening. This room was covered in piping with two giant water heaters situated toward one side and a pole running through the center of the room. The men had set up a sturdy chair with leather restraints next to a table that contained an assortment of tools. His heart shrunk at the sight of equipment that resembled a Picana. He had heard about the use of electricity as an interrogation method, but a Picana was usually only used in the Latin American countries and rarely seen by federal agents.

The Picana was a long metal rod with a rubber grip and wires stretching to a very crude looking control box situated next to a car battery. They forced him into the chair, tying the restraints a little too tightly around his wrists and ankles. Callen continued to glare at them, refusing to give them any satisfaction of cooperation. However he couldn't help but gasp in shock when a bucket of ice cold water was deposited over his head from behind.

"Thanks for the warning asshole," he growled at them, shaking his head in order to clear the water out of his eyes. Mark snorted, turning a dial on the control box. Callen heard the spark as electricity began flowing to the wand and he stiffened. Water made it easier for electricity to flow steadily.

"Let's begin," Mark sighed, picking up the rubber end of the wand. "There's a mole in our organization. John was obviously one of them, but he must have been approached by someone else." Mark waved the wand in front of his face. "I need you to tell me who that mole is." At Callen's steely look, Mark rolled his eyes. "Don't look so serious, you will do yourself a favor if you just give us the information we want."

"You know they're searching for us." Callen altered his expression to a slightly smug look which he knew wouldn't help much. "They'll be here any moment now." Mark punched him squarely across the face, causing Callen to whip his head to the side. He felt his cuts on his face re-open and his bruises start to burn.

"No one is coming for you," Mark said softly, leaning in closer and pulling his head back into place. Callen wrinkled his nose at the man's breath. "How's that cut by the way?" Mark brought his free hand around and slapped Callen on the chest, causing him to grunt. When Callen didn't give any more response, Mark withdrew. "Well then," he sighed. "Who is the mole?" Callen continued to glare at him. Mark brought the Picana rod down onto the top of Callen's hand, pushing lightly onto the skin.

At first Callen was positive that his arm had been skinned and the nerves pulled out through the muscles, but he knew that it was just the electricity coursing through his body. He opened his mouth in a gasp and a strangled cry came out instead as he tried to yank his arm away. The restraints held tightly and he felt a wave of panic rise when the pain didn't stop. Almost as suddenly as the pain began, it vanished, leaving him trembling and his arm aching. He hadn't realized that his eyes had been screwed shut, and he opened them quickly, eyes scanning wildly for where Mark was. He was still standing in front of him, an amused expression on his face.

"Was that fun?" he asked smugly.

"Fuck you," Callen managed to stutter out, trying to calm himself down. He clenched his hand and unclenched it, blocking the excruciating pain from his mind momentarily.

"Who is the mole?" Mark asked again, more sharply. When Callen didn't respond, he swiftly jabbed the Picana into Callen's thigh. This time Callen did cry out, feeling his entire leg clenching up. The electricity traveled upwards and for a second he had a hard time breathing as everything went into shock. The immediate pain disappeared, leaving a growing ache behind. He gasped for air, trying hard to concentrate on Mark's face instead of anything else.

"Agent Callen, who is the mole?"

"You son of a bitch," Callen huffed, bowing his head momentarily. The rod was jammed into his stomach and he immediately doubled over, clenching his teeth together and curling his hands into wrists. His teeth clamped down, catching his tongue accidentally which added to his torment. The wand was removed and Callen tried to stop his body from trembling. Daggers of pain shot up his spine into his neck, causing spasms all throughout his back. "Stop," he growled, spitting out blood. His mouth felt raw and his teeth hurt from clenching.

"You know what I need," Mark reminded him, waving the wand around in his hand. "Your friend was more than willing to give us what we wanted." Callen knew he was lying, but the comment still infuriated him.

"We don't know anything," Callen hissed, forcing his trembling head upright so that he could stare at Mark. The muscles in his stomach were twitching violently and painfully, making it hard for him to breathe.

"I don't believe you," Mark hissed back, shoving the wand into Callen's shoulder. He vaguely made out someone screaming, and it wasn't until the rod was removed that he realized it had been him. Breathing hurt and he tried desperately to unclench his hands but found that he couldn't. "Tell me, Callen."

He screamed as the rod was pushed back onto his skin, the realization sinking in that he might not make it out of here without permanent damage. It was the last thing he thought before it burned up in his mind, replaced by blinding pain.

_A/N: Sorry for the delay, I've been Stage Managing a production of Spamalot (musical version of Monty Python and the Holy Grail) and I haven't had time to write. I haven't even seen the new episode of NCIS: LA yet, or the premier of Supernatural! Life isn't fair haha._


	6. Chapter 6

Kensi woke up to the sound of commotion and found her view of the world to be sideways. She vaguely registered a soft lump under her head that smelled like Callen and figured that she was probably resting on his folded up jacket. Her head was still throbbing, but the pain had lessened a little bit compared to earlier. What hurt the most was her arm. It was stretched out in front of her and as she squinted her eyes open, she could see that Callen had ripped off her shirt sleeve and created a make-shift bandage. The blood had already soaked through, but it was a better alternative than leaving it open in the air where it would be prone to infections. But her arm was burning. The pain was nearly as bad as when the hot irons had first pressed into her skin and she repressed a shudder at the memory.

She curled her hand into a fist and gasped in pain, quickly remembering her broken finger. Tears welled up in her eyes as her entire limb complained with her movements, and she cursed under her breath. She had never dealt with pain like this before.

She heard the sound that woke her up again and focused her gaze further into the room to a shape lying on the floor. Callen was lying on his side, coughing up what sounded like blood onto the floor. Very carefully, Kensi managed to pull herself into an upright position, closing her eyes and swallowing the lump in her throat when her head complained. She sat there for a few seconds, taking shallow breaths as she tried to block out the waves of heat coming from her arm. It lay limply in her lap, and she looked down to see her hand looking mangled and pathetic. The sight made her angry, but she focused back on her teammate instead.

"G?" she rasped, opting for the shorter version of his name since it took less effort to say. He didn't respond but the coughing died down, replaced by harsh breathing. Kensi deliberated getting up, but she knew she wouldn't be able to stand without falling over. Instead she tucked her arm against her stomach and awkwardly began crawling over to him, wincing as her arm complained painfully. "Callen, what's wrong?" she asked as she reached him, pulling on his shoulder lightly to make him turn toward her. He complied, rolling onto his back and wiping a dribble of blood away from the corner of his mouth.

"Just give me a minute," he breathed, closing his eyes and covering his face with his hands. Alarm flashed through her when she noticed how pale he was and how he was drenched with water. His face had gained more bruises and cuts.

"What happened?" she murmured, hands hovering over her team leader uncertainly. He didn't respond to her but groaned instead, balling his hands into fists over his face. She could see him shaking.

"Help me sit up," he grumbled, frustrated at the fact that he had to ask for her help. She did so gingerly, watching him wince as he tried to get his muscles to move properly. She saw the faint outline of burns on his hand and felt her heart sink.

"They shocked you?" She already knew the answer but he nodded anyways. She recognized that his muscles were still trying to recover from the repeated exposure to electricity and she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"We're gonna get out of here," Callen coughed, leaning away from her to spit out more blood onto the ground.

"I know," she agreed, hearing her halfhearted voice and knowing that it didn't sound very convinced. They sat in silence for what seemed like an hour and Kensi closed her eyes against the pain that was slowly increasing behind her forehead and her arm. She shivered involuntarily as the cold finally seeped into her bones and she hugged her arms close to herself, carefully avoiding her burns.

"You should go put on my jacket," he finally muttered, and she opened her eyes to see him with his head bowed, still trying to deal with the pain radiating through his muscles. She could see that he was trembling, but whether it was from the pain or the cold she didn't know. He kept as still as possible, recognizing that it hurt less if he kept from moving. His back ached from sitting up for so long, but he knew that there was a small chance he wouldn't be able to get back up if he laid down.

"You need it too," Kensi commented. He felt a flicker of amusement pass through him at the fact that the two most stubborn people ever were stuck with each other and neither of them refused to admit their weakness to each other.

"You're cold."

"So are you."

"I have more body mass, I can handle it." She narrowed her eyes at him and pursed her lips.

"Are you saying that I'm less likely to handle the cold because I'm a woman?" He distinctly recognized the playful tone in her voice and snorted, looking at her.

"Just put on the jacket Kens." Even with his request, she didn't move from beside him. He felt exhausted and dropped his head back down again, focusing on the pain in his neck for a brief moment.

"Come here," she suddenly said, slowly uncurling herself from her sitting position and getting up on shaky legs. He watched her progress out of the corner of his eyes and noted how she swayed back and forth before finding her balance. She planted her feet firmly on the cement floor, fighting through the headache and the pain before she bent down and placed two hands on his shoulder.

"Don't," he warned, feeling her grip tighten.

"We need to get you to the wall, you can't just sit here," she gritted out through her teeth, trying not to lean on him for balance. He acknowledged that her logic was sound and slowly started to move his limbs, hissing between clenched teeth as they all protested loudly. They managed to get into a standing position, Kensi clutching him around the waist with her good arm while he swung his arm around her shoulders. Together they hobbled over to the wall where Kensi had been resting before and sank slowly to the ground with more groans and complaints.

When she was sure he was safely against the wall, she collapsed a few feet away from him and clutched at her temples, trying to keep her vision from swimming.

"Thanks," he breathed, leaning his head back against the concrete wall and allowing his back muscles to relax. She didn't respond and he glanced over at her, seeing her pained face. "Is it bad?" he asked quietly. She nodded absentmindedly, too tired to argue with him. There was rustling next to her and suddenly a jacket was slung across her. She heard Callen's frustrated grumbles when it didn't reach her entirely and she could tell that it hurt him too much to try to fix it. Instead, she tugged it over herself and flashed him a tired smile.

"You can have it back later," she commented and she saw a spark of gratitude in his blue eyes. She couldn't help but envy the way he managed to hide everything on his face, even though he was shaking and in pain. She knew her exhaustion would be visible in her own eyes. The two of them settled into silence and Kensi felt the headache increase in pain between every passing minute.

"They'll try to use us against each other," Callen suddenly said softly, staring out into the room. She looked at him sharply, surprised that he had initiated such a conversation. But she knew it was necessary.

"I know how to deal with interrogation," she said flatly, almost a bit offended. He realized she had taken it the wrong way and scolded himself, turning to look at her.

"You let me know when it's too much, alright?" It was strictly an order. There were no emotions behind his statement and she knew that he expected her to fight until she couldn't. She absentmindedly broke eye contact to glance down at her arm. How much more could she really take? _As much as it takes to make sure the rest of the team stays safe_. The thought comforted her. "Kensi." The cold way he said her name almost caused her to flinch. She knew what he was doing.

"Yes. It won't come to that." She adopted a mask that she usually reserved for hiding her emotions, and she saw the expression reflected in his eyes. He was preparing her for the fact that things were going to get much worse before they got better. And he was letting her know that they weren't able to do this without removing themselves from the situation completely. "And if they kill one of us?" The question came out a lot harsher than she had intended.

"They won't."

"But if they do. If they _threaten _to, would-" she broke off her sentence, drawing in a quick breath. _'Would you give up Sam and Deeks to save me?'_ The question hung in the air, and she was sure he understood it. She was also sure she knew the answer; he was a trained special agent after all. National security versus the life of an agent, it seemed almost silly that she had to ask the question.

"I won't let them hurt you." Her breathe nearly hitched in her throat at the sound of the determination and protectiveness in his voice. That wasn't the answer she had been expecting. G Callen was a man who rarely showed affection, much less toward her. They had a mutual respect for each other, and she was proud to call him her friend, but she never expected anything more from him than just team friendship. But the way he was looking at her now, with his unreadable blue eyes and his mouth set into a thin line, she knew that he was worried for her. She knew that she was his primary concern in this entire situation and part of her felt admiration for the man increase by ten folds. He did care, of course he did. And she was glad that it was him with her in the room.

Of course the meaning of "hurt" was skewed in their current predicament, and she knew that he meant death. He wouldn't let it get that far. She had to look away from him. Nothing else was said on the subject and they lapsed into silence. Kensi tried to wrap the jacket more tightly around her, feeling the cold seep into her bones through her back and legs. She wasn't sure how long they sat in comfortable silence before she began shivering. She tried to control it, but when she attempted to take a calming breath, it merely ended in a stuttering tremble.

"Come here." Kensi squinted over toward Callen, her look dubious. It hadn't been an order like before. It was more of a question than a statement and she saw him watching her apprehensively.

"Why?" Part of her felt bad for questioning him, but her headache reminded her that she didn't want to move.

"You're going to get hypothermia if you don't warm up, so come here." That really didn't answer her question, but she began the slow and painful journey toward him, crossing the three feet in between them. He lifted his left arm, groaning in discomfort when his muscles complained. She paused, wondering if it was an invitation. When he grimaced, she hurried the rest of the way, head swimming as she settled down next to him with an inch between his side and her arm. He snaked his arm around her, tugging until she pressed up against him. She was immediately thankful for the warmth, letting out an involuntary sigh of relief. He chuckled, but she heard the pain behind it and the ragged breathing.

She tentatively grabbed the jacket and pulled it over onto him as well, partially covering both of them. She accidentally grazed his arm with hers and hissed in pain, pulling away momentarily as her arm started throbbing from the contact.

"Sorry," he apologized as though it had been his fault. She settled back next to him cautiously, stretching out her forearm under the jacket and gingerly positioning it so that it wouldn't get jarred. Within minutes she could feel her body relax as the warmth from Callen and the jacket enveloped her. She pressed closer against him, but uttered a quiet 'sorry' when he winced. "You're fine," he mumbled half-heartedly, lulled by the warmth as well. His exhaustion threatened to override the pain but he forced himself to focus on his aching muscles in order to stay awake. He estimated that it was around midnight, if his internal clock was right.

Every time she closed her eyes, it felt as though a giant weight was pressing against her eyelids in rhythm to her heartbeat and the pounding in her head. She vaguely tried to recall the different grades of concussions to categorize herself into one, but her brain complained and she stopped, settling for watching the light bulb in the ceiling flicker.

"What would Deeks say if he knew you were cuddled up to me all cozy?" Callen murmured, his mouth curling into a brief smile. She snorted, rolling her eyes.

"He wouldn't stop bothering you for weeks," she responded. "I think he'd take it better than Sam though." She could practically hear his smile widen and was rewarded with a soft laugh.

"I'm sure Sam could handle the heartbreak." They settled back into silence and Kensi felt her eyes drop down dangerously low.

"I'm gonna fall asleep," she warned, feeling him shift beside her. He deliberated for a moment, wondering whether he should try to keep her awake or let her sleep. He knew that she had a bad concussion, but he also knew that she wouldn't fair well if she didn't get some rest. Especially if Mark decided to have another go at her.

"Go to sleep," he ordered and she moved around a little bit, trying to get more comfortable. He clenched his jaw as she shifted toward him more, jarring his cut on his chest before settling down.

"Wake me up when you want to switch." She let out a long sigh, allowing her eyes to drop closed as she rested her head against the wall.

"Okay," he responded, fully intent on letting her sleep until she woke up. He also leaned his head back and stared up at the ceiling. He could do this by himself. But having his youngest agent with him complicated things. He didn't like it when members of his team got hurt, and he marveled at how fragile she seemed asleep next to him. He had never seen her like this. He hoped he never had to again. A part of him wondered how much more she could take, but he quickly reminded himself that Kensi Blye was not a woman to be underestimated. Either way, as he forced himself out of his sleepy haze, he hoped that the rest of their team was close to finding them.

_A/N: This chapter is extra long because I love you all. Let me know what you thought of it! _


	7. Chapter 7

When Kensi woke up again, she knew she had definitely slept longer than she had anticipated. The only problem was that she couldn't remember where she was sleeping, nor why she wasn't in her bed. The first thing she noticed was that she wasn't cold and that her head was resting on something soft. A very big part of her wanted to go back to sleep, but a nagging thought in the back of her mind insisted that something was wrong. She thought about her situation harder and suddenly recalled that she was a hostage and that she was stuck in a cement cell.

The feeling of vulnerability overwhelmed her and her eyes snapped open. She jolted back violently to get away from whoever was next to her in order to get into a defensive position, but her head hit the wall behind her forcibly, eliciting a cry of pain as she immediately went to clutch at her head. This movement reignited flames of pain up her arm as her wounds split open at the sudden movement. Her hand began throbbing as she tried to clench her hand into a fist, forgetting about her broken finger and bruised wrist. The exploding pain in her head blinded her momentarily and she went into further panic when she suddenly felt hands on her.

"Don't touch me," she snarled, pain evident in her voice as she scrambled away, curling up into herself in order to create as much of a defensive position as possible. She had to squeeze her eyes together tightly as a steady ringing started up in her ears, causing the headache to increase to splitting proportions. Kensi tried to take calming breathes, but she found herself becoming more and more agitated when she wasn't able to assess her surroundings properly.

It wasn't until a few minutes later when she was able to uncurl her hands from her head and reorient herself with the situation. She quickly came to the conclusion that she was indeed alone in the cell besides one very worried looking G Callen.

"Kens?" he asked uncertainly, still poised with his hands up in a guarding position. She realized that it had probably been his hands trying to calm her down earlier.

"Sorry," she breathed uneasily, not meeting his eyes. She saw him struggling to get up out of the corner of her eye and approach her slowly. She didn't miss the pain in his grimace.

"How's that head?" he murmured, crouching down next to her and collapsing into a sitting position. Callen went to reach for her head but paused, wordlessly asking for permission. She lowered her hand and he gently turned her face to look at her head wound. Luckily the recent scuffle with the wall hadn't re-opened the wound, so he moved to her arm. He peeled the fabric away, much to Kensi's disapproval and pain, to see it bleeding and oozing.

"Ooh that hurts," she hissed, closing her eyes again. They were interrupted when the door swung open, revealing not only Mark, but two other large men.

"Get them up," Mark said, sending his men toward the two agents. They could do little but oblige as they were hoisted up roughly. They were led out to the big room and Kensi noted that they had moved the heavy chair aside and replaced it with a much simpler chair. She was forced down onto it, her hands tied behind her back again, and her ankles tied to the legs of the chair. Callen was thrown onto the ground by the pole, hands tied behind his back around the metal pipe awkwardly. He arched his back as the cold material pushed up against his back.

"Out." Mark ordered his men who willingly obliged, disappearing down a corridor. Mark sighed, hands on his hips as he looked back and forth between Kensi and Callen. "You two look awful," he said sarcastically, scratching at his tattoo on his neck. He walked over to G and bent down, looking at him with a frown. "How are your muscles feeling after those shocks? In pain I bet." He squeezed Callen's arm roughly and the agent responded with a wince. Mark stood, making his way over to Kensi. A coy smile played on his lips as he approached and Kensi glared at him.

He swung his leg over and lowered himself onto her lap, effectively straddling her against the chair. She immediately tensed, feeling him dig his hips into hers. She pressed her mouth together tightly, keeping her eyes locked on Callen's over Mark's shoulder. Mark broke the eye contact by forcing Kensi's chin up, exposing her neck. Her breathing quickened and she made a disgusted sound in the back of her throat as he began trailing his fingers up and down her neck, his other hand firmly planted on her jaw. She tried to yank her head away when his hand started tracing her collarbone, but he kept a tight hold.

"Fiesty," he murmured close to her ear, trailing a finger down under the collar of her shirt.

"Get off of me," she said with some difficulty, feeling his grip tighten on her jaw.

"Do you like watching this Agent Callen?" Mark turned away briefly to look at Callen who had averted his eyes. Kensi took the opportunity to take a few calming breaths while Mark was turned away. "Let's play a game," he continued, still looking at Callen. "How long can I go on until you tell me what I want to know?" Mark turned back to her, lowering his lips to her collarbone experimentally. She felt sick. He began kissing his way up her neck, ignoring her cursing through clenched teeth. He bit down sharply and she cried out in pain, not expecting the sudden motion. Callen's eyes snapped up to meet hers and she saw the guilt and anger in his eyes, mixed with fear for her. She sent him a warning look, a threat that she would be very mad if he revealed the rest of their team just to save her.

Mark took the opportunity to pull her chin back down, crushing his mouth against hers roughly. It caught her by surprise and she spluttered, trying to pull her mouth away. When that didn't work, she attempted to bite down as hard as she could, but he drew away too quickly for her to do any harm.

"You're a sick bastard," she growled, spitting into his face. This earned her a backhand across her face and he leaned over her again, a hand snaking behind her to dig his fingers into her wounded arm. She cried out in pain, trying to bite down the noise as he dug his nails in. He kept his hand there as he kissed her again, pushing his hips into her. The fingers in her arm kept her from fighting back and she pressed her lips together in a thin line, nearly gagging at the taste of alcohol and cigarettes in her mouth. He pulled back, chuckling darkly and licking his lips.

"Anytime Agent Callen," Mark cooed, the pressure disappearing from Kensi's arm. She felt them tug at the back of her shirt instead. His hands roamed her back and stomach, grabbing her waist too tightly for her liking.

"Get off of me," Kensi repeated, her voice low and threatening. She heard the quiver in her voice and cursed herself, but the level of panic in her mind was slowly increasing to parameters that she wouldn't be able to handle. Mark chuckled softly, amused by her words. His hands trailed to her back and up toward her bra, pinching the skin as he went. Kensi's breath hitched at the dark look in his eyes and she immediately looked at her teammate across the room.

"Callen," she bit out, feeling embarrassed tears stinging at her eyes.

"Stop." Callen's command rang out before she had finished saying his name, immediately taking on the role of protector. "Stop it." When Mark didn't turn to face him, but instead went back to caressing Kensi's neck, Callen became angry. "Hey, listen to me!"

"He said stop." The new voice in the room caused Mark to whirl around, hands disappearing from under Kensi's shirt. She let out a shaky breath of relief, pushing back the tears and the panic to the back of her mind. Two of Mark's men had emerged from the corridor with a third person trailing behind them. The voice had come from the guy in the back.

"Sorry to interrupt boss, Luke sent us this guy. Apparently he thinks this guy will do a better job than you." One of the men snickered at his own comment but was silenced when he glanced behind him at the newcomer. He pushed past the other two in order to make his way into the room and Kensi nearly cried out in relief when she recognized Sam. But she kept her reaction in check as Mark grumbled something before getting off of her. Callen had merely glanced at Sam but was now staring intently at her, worry written all over his face. She didn't have the strength to put up any masks over her emotions and stared back at him with such unadulterated anxiety that he wished he could take her place in the situation.

Kensi shut her eyes to keep any moisture from escaping and hung her head, trying to gain control of her emotions. When she opened them again, she saw that Callen was now focused on Sam.

"What's your name?" Mark asked, clearly not happy about the interruption.

"Rick," Sam said roughly, only glancing at Callen and Kensi before focusing on Mark again. His face was set in a scowl.

"Let me finish here and then we'll talk," Mark stated in annoyance, waving him away and turning to face Kensi again.

"I have orders from Luke to take over this interrogation," Sam continued, stopping Mark in his tracks. The smaller man sighed.

"I don't care that Luke sent his rat. I can do this better myself."

"Do you want to tell him that personally?" This statement subdued Mark a bit and he paused to study Rick. Sam continued to stare.

"Fine," he finally growled, narrowing his eyes. "We'll talk." Mark looked at his two men and motioned toward Kensi and Callen. "Get these two out of here." The two men untied both of the agents and heaved them up into standing positions. Kensi couldn't stop her legs from shaking as they were led back into the cell. "I'm not done with her though." The man holding Kensi snorted at Mark's comment before steering her toward the cell. They were unceremoniously dumped inside, slamming the door and muting the voices from outside.

_A/N: Sorry that it took me so long to update! Thank you everyone for your reviews and feedback, I appreciate it more than you might think! Love you all. _


	8. Chapter 8

"_Sam has located Callen and Kensi." _Erik's words rang clearly through Deeks' earpiece and he let out an audible sigh of relief, squeezing his hands together tightly and closing his eyes for a second.

"Everything okay?" The man next to him sent him a questioning glance and Deeks looked up at him, smiling humorlessly.

"Everything's great, thanks." He resumed staring out the window as the car sped down the highway to get to their destination. He just needed an hour. That was it. Get to the location, pick up the classified files, make the arrest, and go see Kensi. That was the only thing he was thinking about right now. The fact that he wasn't able to communicate openly with Erik frustrated him and the unspoken question of '_are they okay'_ was nearly on the tip of his tongue. But he kept his mouth shut and opted for going over scenarios of how he would get his hands on Kensi's kidnapper and personally make sure that he was never able to walk, talk, or function properly every again.

* * *

As soon as the doors shut, Callen turned to his younger agent and raked his eyes up and down her, making sure there were no injuries that he hadn't caught Mark inflicting upon her. She was visibly shaken, her face twisted into a panicked frown and her body trembling from fear and adrenaline.

"It's almost over, Sam's here now," he reminded her hurriedly, taking a step toward her when she stumbled backwards a bit. She shook her head, absentmindedly grabbing at her neck where the imprints from Mark's teeth were still visible.

"I can't do this," she stuttered. He reached out toward her, stopping her from backing away and forcing her to look at him. "I can't. Callen I can't." She grabbed him and gripped his arms tightly, despite the pain in her hand. He could feel her shaking beneath his grasp and the anxiety in her voice fueled the hatred toward their captors. "They're going to rape me." Her voice cracked at the end of the sentence and he saw panic begin to rise in her eyes.

"Hey, stay with me," he mumbled urgently, trying to get her to focus on his eyes. "Keep it together Kens." She made a valiant effort to regain control of her emotions but her hammering heart made it hard to focus on anything else besides the way her skin was burning from where Mark had touched her.

"Please Callen, _please._" The pleading tone took a harsh dive to animalistic desperation and her eyes welled up with tears. "Don't let them take me, please don't." The tears spilled over and suddenly she was crying, feeling the full weight of the entire situation collapse on her shoulders. Her grip tightened on Callen and she could feel his grip do the same in return. At first he was at a loss for words, staring dumbfounded at Kensi as she broke down in front of him. He'd never seen her like this, and honestly it disturbed him at how lost she looked. "_Callen."_ Her sob broke him out of the trance and he immediately nodded.

"Yes, okay," he quickly replied, loosening his grip on her arms. "They won't touch you." He felt himself go into defensive protective mode when relief flashed in her eyes and she let out a shaky breath which ended in a sob. Callen blinked a few times, seeing her duck her head down so that he wouldn't see her cry. "Hey you're okay." He drew her into an embrace, not knowing what else to do. She didn't wrap her arms around him, but instead brought them up to hug them to her chest, pressing her face into his shoulder as she continued to cry. He wrapped his arms around her, rubbing comforting circles on her back and hushing her softly. "No one will hurt you." She nodded against him, still shaking as her body tried to dissipate the adrenaline caused by the immense feeling of fear.

He knitted his eyebrows together as he felt her lean more of her weight onto him but he stood solid as she slowly molded toward him more. Her sobs turned into ragged breathing and he could feel her clutch at his shirt tightly.

"Thank you," she breathed and he closed his eyes, hearing the sadness and guilt in her voice. She felt exposed and vulnerable. She was blaming herself for being weak. He knew that nothing he said would convince her otherwise so he just continued to hold her, waiting until her breathing rhythm matched his before slowly drawing away from her. She kept a hand on his chest, almost afraid as though he was going to change his mind if she broke contact.

The sound of the door opening caused Callen to turn around, effectively blocking Kensi. He felt her grab a hold of his lower arm with one hand. Mark and Sam appeared in the doorway, Mark looking clearly annoyed. Sam took in the scene in front of him, noting Callen's defensive stand and Kensi's position. If he wasn't mistaken, he could see something akin to fear in Kensi's facial features when she looked at Mark.

"They look like crap," he said out loud, adding a hint of amusement in his voice in order to keep his act up.

"They're tough bastards," Mark mused, eyeing Kensi. "You take one and I'll take the other." Sam cast a sideway glance at Mark.

"I'd prefer to interrogate them together," he said firmly. Mark gave a humorless laugh.

"You can do that as soon as I'm done with the pretty girl."

"I don't think tha-"

"You let me have my fun, and then you can have her." Mark's voice dropped to a threatening tone, obviously signaling that it wasn't a decision that was up for discussion. Sam pressed his mouth into a thin line, dragging his gaze back to his teammates. Callen had his eyes fixated up on Mark, narrowing them into slits. "Come here, let's go," Mark called, addressing Kensi. She didn't move. "Go get her for me," Mark asked, looking at Sam. The bigger man hesitated for a moment, trying to catch Callen's eyes. "Go." Sam took a step toward his friends, but Callen held up a hand toward him.

"It's a shame that I don't like carnivals," Callen said rather nonchalantly, guarded eyes trained on Sam's. Sam paused mid-step, recognizing their distress phrase. He was confused as to why G was using it now. It was obvious that he was in distress. "Like wow, I really hate carnivals." Sam slid his eyes away from Callen to look at Kensi who was staring at Mark with a hunted expression on her face. He noted the way Kensi was gripping onto Callen like her life depended on it and how he was positioned protectively in front of her. Callen saw the moment that Sam understood that this needed to stop now.

"_Agent Hanna, Mr. Deeks needs more time," _Hetty crackled in Sam's ear, but the Navy seal was already striding over to Mark. Within two seconds he had connected his fist with Mark's face. It was quick enough that the smaller man had no time to react or cry out in alarm. He hit the ground unconscious. The instant Sam was sure that Mark was down properly, he turned to his teammates.

"Are you guys okay?" He made his way over to both of them, eyes darting between the two bruised faces.

"We need to get out of here," Callen muttered, feeling Kensi's hand still clutching at his arm. It was clear to Sam that Kensi was worse off between the two of them and he turned his full attention to her.

"Kens," he began, but the way she looked reminded him of a scared animal and he stopped his sentence short. He saw her retreat into herself as she turned her attention to Mark and he quickly looked back at Callen, worry clearly reflected in his eyes.

"We need to get her out of here," Callen clarified, carefully extracting his arm from her grip.

"Can you fight?" Sam asked him. Callen reluctantly shook his head no, feeling exhaustion drag his muscles down.

"Hetty we need to extract them now," Sam said briskly, once again glancing at Kensi's trembling form.

"_Deeks has not made it to the pickup location yet," _Erik responded quickly. Sam grumbled in annoyance.

"I'll keep the rest of them occupied while Deeks completes the mission. Sit tight, I'll come get you when it's time." Callen nodded, watching as Sam gave them one last fleeting look before exiting the cell, leaving them with the unconscious body of Mark. Callen had a feeling that if Kensi had a gun, she'd be depositing her entire clip into Mark's head. He turned to her again.

"I'm sorry," she stuttered quietly, not taking her eyes off of Mark.

"For what?" Callen's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"For not being able to handle the situation." He picked up on the shame in her voice.

"Let's just focus on getting out of here first, and then we'll talk, okay?" He made sure to file this promise in the back of his mind as she nodded slowly.

"Okay." The way her hand somehow found its way back onto his forearm worried him and the hollow look in her eyes sent a pang of sadness through his mind when he realized that this was not going to be something that Kensi could easily move past. But he knew that he wouldn't be able to deal with her trauma unless he first made sure that they both made it out of here alive.

_A/N: Torture and rape (attempted assault in this situation) are very serious subjects, and although I feel like Callen would definitely be affected by such an experience, I am betting that he'll be okay compared to Kensi. The thing I dislike about the latest episodes of NCIS: LA is that they're completely brushing aside Deeks' PTSD and going back to him being the comic relief of the show. That's not okay, there should have been way more character development there. So for this story, expect to see some consequences when it comes to Kensi and the shit she's had to go through in the past few chapters. Let me know if you have any suggestions, and as always, thank you so much for reading! _


	9. Chapter 9

The moment Deeks saw the briefcase that held the classified files, he tensed. It was an involuntary action, brought on by the anticipation of completing his mission and finally being able to rescue his teammates. He was currently standing next to the black SUV that he arrived in, watching three men hand over the briefcase to his so called "superior" while exchanging quiet whispers. Deeks noted the guns strapped to all of their waists and quickly glanced up at the roof of the alley way in hopes that the backup Hetty had promised was already stationed there. When the briefcase finally changed hands, Deeks had to stop himself from making a move. However the man sitting next to him did notice the way Deeks' hand instinctually twitched closer to his gun, and there was a few seconds of heated silence before Deeks realized that he had been made.

"Hey," the man began, taking a threatening step toward Deeks while his hand went for his own gun. Deeks cursed under his breath, thinking quickly and taking a step toward the man to meet him halfway. The agent's elbow had connected with the man's jaw before he had the chance to draw his gun. He punched the man square across the face, eliciting a cry of pain as the man stumbled away from the vehicle.

"This would be the time for that backup, Hetty," Deeks yelped as he dropped to the ground when gunfire exploded around him. He rolled underneath the SUV, emerging on the other side with a grunt as he heard bullets ricochet off of the vehicle.

"Don't let them get away with that case Mr. Deeks." Deeks had to stop himself from rolling his eyes at the judging tone in her voice, but he peeked his head out from beside the car quickly to get a look at where the briefcase had gone. He quickly had to pull his head back when it was almost shot off.

"As much as I think I can James Bond myself out of this, I'd appreciate some help," he said loudly, clutching his gun to his chest and praying that the men weren't stupid enough to come around the side of the car. As he glanced to his right, he made out the form of one of the men fleeing, the briefcase clutched tightly in his grasp. "For crying out loud," he groaned, steadying his arm and aiming at the retreating figure. He fired three shots, two which missed and one which hit the man in the back of the calf, causing him to stumble and drop the briefcase. "Booyah, that just happened," Deeks whooped triumphantly, but he was immediately cut off when there were more gunshots aimed toward him.

There was a moment of panic when Deeks doubted that his backup would come, but he soon heard the familiar shout of "federal agents" and the gunfire was directed away from the SUV and toward his oncoming help instead. This allowed him to aim across the front of the car, taking out one of the men before the rest of the NCIS team took out the rest. After making sure the briefcase was secured, Deeks wasted no time in hurtling himself into the nearest car, demanding the address to where the rest of his team could be found.

* * *

By the time Mark regained consciousness, Kensi had grasped a hold of most of her emotions and had separated herself from Callen in order to get a grip of the situation again. The moment Mark began to stir, Callen was by his side, rolling the man over onto his back and placing a boot very firmly on his neck.

"Listen to me," Callen said quietly, keeping his voice low and threatening. "If you make any sort of sound, I will press this boot into your face until you stop breathing." Mark glared daggers up at the agent, his nose a bloody mess from Sam's uppercut.

"Cute," he mumbled, choking on his words when Callen applied pressure.

"Try me." The anger in Callen's eyes was one of the most genuine and intense emotions Kensi had seen on her leader in a very long time. She opted to stay away, wanting nothing more than to break all the fingers on Mark's hands, but knowing that she didn't have the physical or emotional capacity to do so. Instead, she slowly slid down the wall into a sitting position, staring gauntly at the man on the ground. Mark turned his head as much as Callen's boot would allow to stare at her, his mouth curling into a cruel smile. She met his eyes and didn't break eye-contact.

Another push by Callen's foot forced Mark to look back at him. G raised his eyebrow in a warning of '_don't you dare even look at her' _which didn't need to be spoken to be understood. More than anything, Callen wanted something that he could tie Mark up with. He felt vulnerable in his current position, and his fears were realized when Mark suddenly grabbed his ankle, twisting and pulling to catch Callen off-balance. His fatigued muscles were no match for Mark's adrenaline-fueled moves and Callen found himself with a fist to his stomach, doubling over as pain sprang up everywhere. He managed to reach up and catch Mark's next punch, using the momentum to pull the man toward him and head-butt him in the face. He missed his target but landed a sharp elbow into Mark's side.

"You're no match for me Agent Callen," Mark hissed in his ear as he maneuvered him into a rear choke. Callen struggled feebly, his strength and energy already drained and his entire body complaining viciously. There was a sudden cry of pain and the pressure disappeared, causing Callen to stumble onto his knees as he took gasping breaths. He turned to see Kensi extracting her fingers from Mark's eye sockets, pushing him down onto the ground. Mark clawed at his face in anguish, curling up to avoid further injury.

"You stay the fuck down," Kensi spat, stumbling backwards until she found a wall to steady herself against. He could see the fear on her face, matched by relief at the notion that Mark was practically incapable of doing them any more harm. The fact that she had probably permanently damaged his eyes stunned Callen, and he was momentarily glad that she wasn't in any shape to do more damage.

"Bastard," he muttered as he pulled himself back onto shaky feet. His eyes locked with Kensi for a moment, making sure she wasn't going to collapse before he also made his way over to a wall. They both stood there, watching Mark whimper and moan on the ground, reduced to nothing because of Kensi's attack.

It was about fifteen minutes before the two agents started hearing noises from outside, and two more minutes before a much frazzled Deeks burst into the room, gun raised with Sam following behind him, looking more annoyed than anything. Both of the men's attention went to Mark who was still on the ground, his hands firmly clamped over his eyes but alert at the sound of other people.

"What happened to him?" Sam asked, breaking the silence in the room. Kensi didn't have the chance to answer before Deeks was by her side, holstering his gun and hovering his hands over her as though he didn't want to cause more harm.

"Kensi," he murmured, and she could hear the pity in his voice.

"I'm okay," she whispered, meeting his worried blue eyes and not really putting much conviction behind her statement. He obviously didn't believe her, and opened his mouth to say something but decided against it. She felt him grab her arm gently, the reassurance making her relieved. "I'm glad you're here," she found herself saying, dropping her chin to avoid seeing his guilty look.

"We're getting you out of here," Deeks said firmly, moving to lead her toward the door, but she resisted.

"I just need a moment," she breathed, feeling her body start to shake again.

"Hey I gotcha, you're safe," Deeks continued comforting, seeing the shift in her face when her body accepted the words and began to unwind. He carefully caught her when she started to fall and cradled her against him as they both sunk to the floor, Kensi's vision swimming dangerously into darkness. "Damn it Kensi, stay with me," Deeks cursed, trying to get her to remain conscious.

"Hey, careful," Callen bit out harshly, not intending for the words to come out so judgingly, but feeling worry flare up in his chest when he saw her nod out of consciousness for a moment. "Get her to a hospital," he said urgently to Sam. "Please." Sam nodded, making his way over to Kensi and Deeks and kneeling down next to them.

"I got her, you take care of this guy and Callen," Sam said softly, gingerly wrapping his arm around Kensi's back and hooking another under her knees. He lifted slowly, settling her carefully against his chest as Deeks rose with a beyond-worried expression on his face. Deeks' eyes didn't leave Kensi's unconscious form until she was out of the room. He then made his way over to Mark, yanking him up off the floor a little too roughly and dragging his arms behind his back to be handcuffed. Callen could see the full extent of Kensi's nail marks on Mark's face, and his eyes were bloody and shut tightly.

"Let's go," Deeks growled, looking to Callen and quietly making sure that the agent could walk out of there by himself. Callen gave a brisk nod, pushing off the wall and following Deeks on shaky feet, not glancing behind him as he walked out the door.

_A/N: So many apologies for the lack of updates! We're almost done with the story folks, just a chapter or two more to go! Thank you so much for your kind reviews, they are so uplifting to read. Love you all. _


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